A Survival Tips and Techniques Blog | UrbanWoodsman.com

What would you do for light if the grid went down? I put some components together and created an emergency lighting solution. The wind generator is a 10W vawt, and the solar panels are 1.8W each. They trickle charge a 12V battery that can be used for emergency lighting or recharging batteries, cell phones, etc. I’ve used this system and it works. VAWTs (vertical axis wind turbine) work well in a surburban and urban environment. They have lower cut in speeds than horizontal props, which means they’re creating electricity even in low winds. Plus, they run silent so they won’t bother neighbours. I made this after reading Patriots by James Rawles.

People who enjoy heading into the woods for a weekend or few days of camping tend to be the type to look for the most “natural” resources while on their trip. These people usually won’t want a lot of day to day things along for the adventure, but quite often some modern conveniences can come in very handy, and can often prove life saving.

Of course most campers will bring a high-quality tent and sleeping gear, they’ll want some cooking supplies and food stores, but they’ll probably be leaving their PDAs or MP3 players at home. This is a good idea because not only can they distract someone from enjoying the scenery and world around them, but they can become excess weight once their batteries have died.

Not all electrical gadgets are useless when camping or hiking however, but there are no solutions for keeping such handy items as GPS units or cellular phones fully charged while out in the woods, right? Thanks to solar technology that is no longer the case.

With lightweight foldable solar chargers, a backpacker or camper can supply their smaller electronic devices with an ample amount of power. This can be great for hikers who want to be sure they are headed the right way (using their GPS) or campers who have run into an emergency situation and use their cellular phones to call for help.

The waterproof and flexible solar panels can even be draped across a backpack where the hiker simply totes their own personal power station on their back as they trek through the woods, fields or paths.

Of course solar electricity is not used just for high-tech equipment, and there are other niceties that solar power supplies to a camper or hiker. There are camp lamps and lights that can serve for up to twelve hours with one single charge. This eliminates the need to tote the significantly heavier battery powered units and also reduces the chance of being “left in the dark” should batteries die during a hiking or camping trip.

So, emergency communications and accurate mapping and lighting can be supplied through solar electricity. Is there anything else? Actually, one of the most popular items toted around by campers and hikers heading into the woods are solar showers. These are lightweight sacks that can be filled with frigid stream or lake water. The bags are then hung in the sun, and thanks to their special solar properties, can heat up the three or more gallons to an incredibly comfortable temperature. The camper simply opens the nozzle and enjoys their super hot solar shower! In conclusion, outdoor solar lights and products can come in really hand in challenging outdoor conditions.